AF: I don't even remember going toward the cones. I was looking
straight, then I was, like, on the cones. And I could see them hitting.
And I'm like, "I'm in the middle of the track." I got to the end, and
the Safety Safari came over. They were like, "Are you OK?" I'm like,
"Yeah. Sorry about the cones." They were foam boxes, and a piece of
one was on the front of my car. So we kept that for my scrapbook someday.

DRO: SO HOW DID YOUR DAD REACT?

AF: He's like freaking out that I hit a couple cones. He was
seriously leaning over on the starting line, puking. Well, not really,
but I thought he was. I thought, "You know how many crashes that I've
seen him do?" Hundreds of times worse than just hitting some cones.
And he just freaked out over a little going sideways a bit.

DRO: ARE YOU STARTING TO FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE IN YOUR NEW SURROUNDINGS?

AF: There's a lot of people out here who know a lot more about
these cars than me. Even though I went to the schools and I took auto
(mechanics shop class), I still feel like I'm scared to say things and
people will think I don't know what I'm talking about. I try to be as
truthful as possible, and I know I probably sound like this young kid
who doesn't know what she's doing. I'm sure through time I'll hopefully
learn a little bit more, trying to hang out in the pit and working on
the cars and everything. From driving a car, I understand so much more,
even though I've only done a few passes. Dad and Tony were talking this
morning about their runs, and I actually understood. They were talking
about tire shake and getting out of the groove. Before, that was like
slang to us, but I actually understand what they're talking about now.

DRO: RON WILLIAMS AND MIKE MACBRAIR SAY YOU ARE LIKE A SPONGE,
EAGER TO SOAK UP THEIR ADVICE.

AF: They (crew members) all are really good. And Mike races.
So everything they tell me I know will be helpful.

DRO: YOUR FIRST RACE IS A DIVISION 7 EVENT MARCH 1-3 AT PHOENIX.
THEN YOU'LL MAKE YOUR NATIONAL-EVENT DEBUT MARCH 14 AT GAINESVILLE,
FLA. ARE YOU READY FOR THE REAL COMPETITION TO BEGIN?

AF: The season hasn't started, so I don't know what to expect.
It won't be as kick-back as it is now. We've gone through each hurdle
at a time. I would be running half-passes and then I'd start running
full ones. And Mike would stage with his feet, so I could get used to
staging with someone else. And just now I ran with somebody else next
to me. So we're kind of going though everything.

DRO: WHAT WAS IT LIKE, DOING YOUR FIRST SIDE-BY-SIDE PASS AT
THE TUCSON TEST SESSION?

AF: It didn't bother me. I was confident. I thought I'd be able
to see him a lot more, but I didn't because of the way you're sitting
in the car. You kind of just think of your own lane and don't worry
about who's in the other lane.